The message
from "Jeff Layman" contains these words:

/chemicals/

That's where I got mine. I also got a lot of things (in bulk) which sent
local chemists into a tizz - Spirits of salt, and various other
chemicals - potassium dichromate, oxalic acid, oh, and lots more.

But were these sent to a business address or simply a personal home address?

Neither - I went and collected them in my car.


You can go and get fuming spirits of salt from hardware shops - assuming
you go in wearing yer long trousis...

Oh yes - I was amazed when conc hydrochloric acid ("Spirits of salt")
reappeared after many years of absence, and absolutely dumbfounded
when conc
sulphuric acid appeared as a drain unblocker. I expect this was an EC
ruling.

Dunno - I've often had a use for oleum (Conc. Sulphuric acid) caustic
soda, spirits of salt, spirits of nitre (conc. nitric) certain cyanides,
and still have, for most.

But that only seems to apply to the UK. An acquaintance in France who
like growing Proteaceae has trouble with an very alkaline water supply.
His solution is to acidify it with dilute nitric acid, which he makes
from the containers of umpteen litres of concentrated nitric acid he
buys! Try doing
that over here.

I don't think there'd be a problem if you bought it in bulk from a
distributer - just from a chemist. I had the devil's own job to persuade
a chemist he could sell me a fluid ounce of diethyl ether, so long as it
had the correct label. In the end he looked it up (so he could show me i
was wrong) and - oops!

Now if you were to ask for sulphuric acid as well as the nitric, and a
certain sugar derivative, you might find your collar being felt.

I doubt it, but if the delivery van parked on a double yellow line, the
judges black cap might come out!

Sulphuric, nitric, and the certain sugar derivative all purchased at the
same time would attract a swat-squad like - ahem! - er - jam attracts
wasps.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
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